Take Your Time

Citing traffic and large crowds at inauguration activities, the Office of Personnel Management has called on federal agencies to help Washington-based employees deal with commuting on Jan. 19, the day before the inauguration. OPM officials decided, however, to rebuff a call from a lawmaker to give government employees the afternoon off.

Federal employees in the Washington area already receive an official holiday on Thursday, Jan. 20-Inauguration Day. The inaugural parade and related celebrations have historically shut down long stretches of the city's streets. To minimize tie-ups, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., had appealed to OPM to dismiss federal workers in Washington early on Wednesday.

"I have been working with the Secret Service and other security officials to keep already serious congestion problems in the city from becoming worse as we prepare for the presidential inauguration," Holmes Norton wrote in a letter to OPM Director Kay Coles James.

Holmes Norton noted that security officials are planning to close several downtown Washington streets at 3:45 p.m. on Jan. 19.

"I am writing to recommend and to ask that federal employees be dismissed at noon or 1 p.m. to avoid huge traffic snarls," she wrote. "The Secret Service has clearly gone as far as they can by delaying street closures until immediately before the ceremony, but there is nothing they can do about the fact that the ceremony begins at rush hour."

James signed a memo Tuesday calling on agencies to look for creative ways to keep employees out of traffic. The burden, however, will remain on employees.

She said nonessential federal employees might want to "request annual leave, previously earned compensatory time off, or leave without pay on Wednesday, Jan. 19." James also recommended telecommuting, using public transportation and leaving extra time for the evening commute out of Washington.

Several days after James announced her resignation as director of OPM, federal workers unions and public service advocacy groups released conciliatory statements despite the fact James has clashed with some groups over White House plans to overhaul the federal workforce. Union leaders generally had kind words for her personally-if not the policies she was responsible for promoting.

"Kay Coles James has always had a consistent open-door policy in regard to talking with our union representatives," said American Federation of Government Employees President John Gage. "We appreciate her willingness to listen to our concerns. We wish her the best with her future endeavors."

Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees, said, "While we did not always agree, it was a pleasure to work with her."